There is ongoing debate on whether adults' narratives of trauma memories are similarly or less coherent than those of non-trauma memories. For child maltreatment, relevant studies have focused on child/adolescent narratives rather than adult narratives of sexual abuse and found that these narratives were less coherent than non-abuse narratives. This study examined and compared the coherence level of maltreatment versus positive event narratives in 204 adults (M age = 25.52, SD = 8.50, 77.9% identified as female, and 66.7% identified as Caucasian). Results showed that adults' narratives of their child maltreatment were similarly or more coherent than that of non-trauma, positive events (Cohen's d = .16-.50). The length of narratives was related to coherence level. This study added to the literature by contrasting the coherence level of child maltreatment versus non-trauma narratives in adults, an area of limited study. Results suggested a resilient sample who can narrate their maltreatment events coherently.

In this longitudinal Canadian study, we investigated the relationship between the developmental trajectories of community involvement and generative concern measured at ages 23, 26, and 32. Participants completed a questionnaire on youth involvement, the Youth Involvement Inventory (YII), and the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS) at all 3 ages. A latent growth model (LGM) of community involvement predicting time-specific variance in the LGS revealed that: (a) higher levels of community involvement at age 23 predicted greater generative concern at ages 23 and 26, but not at age 32; (b) there were 3 specific indirect paths linking age 23 community involvement to age 32 generativity through earlier assessments of age 23 and age 26 generative concern; and finally (c) a more positive slope of community involvement over time predicted higher levels of generative concern at age 32. These findings suggest that early involvement in community commitments, and increases in community involvement across emerging adulthood, may lead individuals down a path toward a more generative personality in young adulthood.

Background:The opioid crisis is an ongoing public health crisis affecting all segments of society, including youth. However, there is limited research available on strategies that youth consider appropriate. This qualitative study examines the perspectives of youth who use substances regarding strategies to address Canada's opioid crisis among youth.Method:We conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 20 youth, aged 15 to 23 years old, who were seeking tertiary care hospital-based services for substance use challenges in Toronto, Canada. Most participants had at least some experience using opioids. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.Results:Seven themes were identified. Participants highlighted the importance of (1) increasing awareness and balanced early education about substance use and opioid use; (2) increasing awareness and education about services; (3) increasing the availability of a continuum of youth-oriented service options; (4) providing services that emphasize ease of access and youth autonomy; (5) implementing a harm reduction approach; (6) providing respectful, responsive service providers; and (7) making changes at systems and policy levels.Conclusions:Youth with substance use challenges have important perspectives on the approaches that they would expect to work in addressing Canada's opioid crisis among young people. Designing services that meet the expressed needs of young people will help ensure that services are appropriate for them, fostering service utilization. These findings provide guidance to optimize prevention interventions, as well as treatments and other services to address Canada's opioid crisis in ways that resonate with youth at risk of opioid use concerns and with youth who use opioids.

Background While interventions have been developed and tested to help youth who have become disconnected from work and school, there is a paucity of research on young people’s intervention preferences. This study aims to understand young people’s preferred intervention outcomes and approaches for youth who are out of work and school. Methods Thirty youth participated in virtual focus groups. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Youth want interventions and approaches that support them in (1) vocational readiness, (2) securing a job, and (3) mental health and well-being, while providing them with (4) high-contact, individualized, and integrated support. Conclusions Young people want interventions to be individualized and integrated, providing a high level of support for their educational and employment pursuits as well as their mental health and well-being. Incorporating youth's perspectives when designing interventions can increase intervention relevance and potentially service uptake, helping youth continue to pursue their educational and vocational goals.

Aim: There is robust evidence that child maltreatment is a significant risk factor and linked to negative psychological outcomes. However, few studies have examined the impact of child maltreatment on mental health and substance use trajectories across adolescence.Methods: Data were drawn from a larger longitudinal project, in which participants were recruited starting in grade 7-8 and followed on two more occasions biennially.The final baseline sample was comprised of 765 youth (M age = 12.73, SD = 0.67, 49.7% female, 57.6% Caucasian/White). Multivariate multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to examine whether youth with maltreatment histories differed in their internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems trajectories (based on previous studies) than youth without maltreatment histories. Moderation analyses using multinomial logistic regression were also conducted to examine perceived family support and school connectedness as protective factors against the impact of maltreatment.Results: Youth who experienced maltreatment were more likely to display more severe internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problem trajectories than youth without such histories. While not significant as moderators, perceived family support and school connectedness were significantly associated with each of the trajectories, with lower levels of perceived family support and school connectedness linked to more severe problem trajectories.Conclusions: Results highlight the ongoing and significant harmful impact of maltreatment among youth. Results also support further prevention and intervention efforts for child maltreatment, particularly at the family and school level.